UK / Greece: Luggage storage startup Stasher and Greek real estate rental group Blueground have announced a partnership, which will see the latter use the former’s network around the world and give professionals, business people and executives an option to leave their luggage in a safe place before checking in.
Blueground offers fully-furnished, tech-enabled apartments for stays starting at 30 days, extending up to a year or beyond. Founded in Athens in 2013 by CEO Alex Chatzieleftheriou, the company now has its headquarters in New York City and operates more than 3000 apartments in 12 cities worldwide [New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, Athens, Istanbul, Dubai, Seattle, London and Paris].
Stasher, whose CCO Anthony Collias has Greek descent, works with a number of branded apartment providers and hotel groups to provide a place for travellers to leave their luggage for a few hours.ย 2019 saw the startup partner with the likes of Klook, Sonder, Marriott and Hotels.com.
CEO Jacob Wedderburn-Day said at the time of the announcement that Stasher would continue building partnerships with “trusted companies and to continue working with quality brands” such as Premier Inn, Expedia, Holiday Express, OYO and Accor.
Both companies have recently been boosted by significant funding rounds in order to expand their presence around the world.
In October, Blueground closed a $50 million Series B round while announcing its launch in London, as it sought to invest in its internalย platform, its website and mobile application and create a seamless business travel experience.
Meanwhile, Stasher, known as the “Airbnb of luggage storage”,ย raised $2.5 million in funding in January to carry out is global expansion strategy. The round was led by VentureFriends, along with various angels including Johan Svanstrom, former president of Expedia-owned OTA giant Hotels.com.
Blueground’s real estate team works directly with landlords, property management companies and individual owners to find the best apartments in the most ideal locations within each city. After ensuring that the apartment meets our criteria, Blueground signs the lease and takes over everything from maintenance to utilities to furnishings to finding vetted guests.
For more information, visit the Blueground website here and the Stasher website here.
